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This is the footage that trapped a benefit fraudster who said he was too sick to work - but was seen riding an ELEPHANT on an expensive holiday to India.

Lying Stephen Worton, 55, was caught out by his holiday snaps which showed him in Amsterdam, Turkey and riding a camel and an off-road buggy in Egypt while claiming £85,000 public cash because he said he had no money.

But while he was pocketing income support, housing benefit and council tax help over a ten year period he was earning up to £60k running his own roofing business. He also owned a static caravan and a boat moored on Lake Windermere.

Prosecutor Kevin Slack told Liverpool Crown Court that Worton originally claimed to be too sick to work because he had cancer and while that was true initially he was soon back at work and any benefits obtained after that was dishonest.

He also claimed to be a tenant in his home in Whiston, Merseyside, but was in fact the owner and had lied about having a landlord so he could claims benefits, the Liverpool Echo reports.

That house was repossessed and Worton, who moved in with his new wife on Hill Street, Toxteth, stopped his claims as it was no longer “safe” to continue the frauds.

He didn’t claim at his new address as his wife was making claims to the tune of £21,000 by falsely saying she was a single woman with no income.

An investigation was launched which saw holiday albums recovered featuring Worton, who was mean to be destitute, larking about in front of the pyramids and the Sphinx in Egypt and washing an elephant on a beach in Goa.

Surveillance also showed Worton, who came to court walking on two sticks, up a ladder supervising roofing work at his business Aran Roofing

Mr Slack said Worton’s lifestyle was “completely unobtainable to someone genuinely on income support”.

Worton, who has previous convictions for theft, handling stolen goods and obtaining property by deception initially denied the charges but later pleaded guilty to 16 counts related to the frauds.

Theresa Loftus, defending, said he was in poor health and needed vascular surgery. She said Worton’s denials were because he was ashamed of what he had done and was “staggered” by the large sums and how serious his situation was.